Plastic-snap holder for articles



April 1959 J. M. MOORE 2,883,061

PLASTIC-SNAP HOLDER FOR ARTICLES Filed July 15, 1957 I l lll v INVENTOR. JOSEPH 'M. MOORE mm mil M l i HTTDRNEY April 21, 1959 J. M. MOORE 2,383,061

PLASTIC-SNAP HOLDER FOR ARTICLES,

Filed July 15, 1957 2 SheetsSheet 2 INVENTOR.

. MOORE JOSEPH M HTTURNEY Uni ed States Patent 2,883,061 PLASTIC-SNAP HOLDER FOR ARTICLES Joseph M. Moore, Tenafly, NJ. Application July 15, 1957, Serial No. 672,061

1 Claim. (Cl. 211-43 'This invention relates generally to devices for holding and displaying merchandise and more particularly to plastic holders for holding and displaying small articles of merchandise such as cigarette lighters, wallets, pens, lip.- sticks and articles of various shapes and sizes. A principal object of the present invention is to provide a plastic holder capable of holding a numberof articles of merchandise such as cigarette lighters, wallets, pens, lipsticks and the like in a manner that the articles may be seen and felt by the customer but cannot be lifted out of the holder by the customer or by an unauthorized Patented Apr. 21, 1959 embodying my invention, an article of merchandise being shown in position in one of the compartments.

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on the ice 6 plane of the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

person without difliculty and cannot fall out of the holder but yet can be readily removed by a salesman upon a sale.

An important object of the invention is to provide a flat plastic holder for articles of merchandise having a plurality" of shallowcompartments open at the front with flexible side walls whereby theanicles may be jammedfitted into position in the compartments, yieldingly held therein by the sidewalls ofthe compartments and adapted readily to be snapped out of the compartments by the sale'smanfwhen desired. I L Another object is to providea fiat plastic holder for articles of merchandise having a plurality of shallow compartments with open tops and flexible bottom walls whereby the articles may be snapped out of the compartments by an authorized person by finger pressure against the rear side of the bottom walls.

A further object is to provide a plastic holder of this type which may be readily supported on a flat supporting surface such as a counter, shelf, glass case, or which may be hung up on a supporting nail or the like.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a plastic holder of this type which is capable of being molded with compartments of various shapes such as square, rectangular, circular, oval or any other desired shape, capable of fittingly receiving articles of corresponding shapes.

A specific object is to provide a substantially flat shallow compartmented plastic holder for articles of merchandise of various shapes having a peripheral flange capable of receiving means for hanging the holder on a supporting nail or the like and capable of receiving a display card or the like.

It is further proposed to provide a merchandise display and holder device which is simple in construction, adapted 'for mass production, durable, sanitary, capable of being reused, attractive in appearance, characterized by fewness of parts, highly efiicient for the purpose intended :and which can be manufactured and sold at a reasonable -cost.

For further comprehension of the invention, and of the objects and advantages thereof, reference will be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, and

10 the appended claim in which the various novel features of the invention are more particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawing forming a material part of this disclosure:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a display and holder device Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the plane of the line 44 of Fig. l. t

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of an article of merchandise capable of being held and displayed in the device of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a top plan of a modified form of a display and holder device Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawing in detail, in Fig. l a merchandise display and holder device made in accordance with the invention is shown and indicated generally at 15. This display and holder device is molded of suitable plastic material and is preferably colored. It consists of a substantially flat rectangular shaped body 16 formed of plastic sheet material, with upstanding low peripheral side wall portions 17, 17 and with similar peripheral end wall portions 18, 18. Intersecting longitudinal and transverse partition walls 19 and 20, respectively, divide the body into a plurality of shallow compartments 21.

The side wall portions 17, 17 and the longitudinal partition walls 19 are channel-shaped at their outer sides, as indicated at 22, with flat sides continuing inwardly into curved side wall portions 23 thereby forming shoulders 24 between the fiat sides and the curved side wall portions 23. The curved side wall portions 23 merge into bottom walls 25.

The transverse partition wall 20 and the end walls 18 forming the end walls of the compartments taper slightly from the inner ends thereof to the outer ends as indicated at 39.

The channel-shaped partition walls are relatively stiff and the curved side wall portions 23 and bottom walls 25 are relatively thin and flexible. The side wall portions 17, 17 of the body and the longitudinal partition walls 19 terminate, at their junctures with the transverse walls 20 and with one end wall 18, in enlargements 26 and 27, respectively. These enlargements continue laterally across the adjacent ends of the compartments 21 to provide relatively thick and stilf shelves 28 across one end of the bottom walls 25 of the compartments. The shelves 28 are formed with recesses 29 midway their ends in order to receive a portion of an article of merchandise when supported in the compartments. The transverse partition walls 20 are slightly thicker than the longitudinal partition walls 19 and each transverse wall at one side thereof at the center of the adjacent compartment is formed with a notch 30 to permit insertion of the finger nail of the user between the wall and the supported article.

The side and end wall portions 17 and 18, respectively, of the body are tapered outwardly and slightly curved terminating in a continuous radial flange 31 around the body. The flange is sufficiently wide to accommodate a hole 32 for hanging the device on a supporting nail or the like, and to accommodate a display card (not shown) or the like.

The compartments 21 illustrated in the drawing are shaped to accommodate a cigarette lighter 35 such as shown in Fig. 5. In use, the cigarette lighter is pressed flatwise into the compartment, with its top or head portion 36 positioned to rest on the shelf portion 28 of the compartment. The tapered end wall portions of the compartment facilitate the entrance of the cigarette lighter into the compartment. The dimensions of the compartments are such that the sides of the cigarette lighter will engage the overhanging shoulder portions and spread same apart whereby the cigarette lighter will slip past the shoulder portions into the bottom of the compartment and rest on the bottom wall 25 thereof with the sides of the lighter underneath the shoulder portions of the sidewalls so that the cigarette lighter is held in position against displacement, with its top surface flush with the top of the body portion. The supported cigarette lighter may be viewed and fingered without displacing the same and the holder may be tilted or'turned upside down without fear of the cigarette lighter becoming displaced or falling out. In order to remove the cigarette lighter from the compartment, it must be loosened by pressing the finger on the rear surface of the bottom wall thereof. The rear surfaces of the bottom walls are preferably formed with pin pricks 38 for this purpose and for creating an air suction in the compartment to assist in holding the article against displacement. This operation forces the shouldered portions of the side walls of the compartment slightly apart so that the cigarette lighter will slip out of its berth. The fingernail of the user may be slipped into the notch 30 to assist the removal of the cigarette lighter. The article itself might be grasped by the fingers of the user. and forcibly extracted from the compartment.

It will be understood that the body of the holder may be molded with compartments shaped to receive fountain pens, flashlights, wallets, lipsticks or any other desired shape necessary to accommodate the various shapes of articles of merchandise found on the market.

The modified form of display and holder device shown in Fig. 6 differs from the form of Figs. 1 to 5, inclusive, in that the end wall portions 18', 18 of the body and the flange 31 are formed with continuous grooves 40 and 41, respectively, in line with the longitudinal partition wall portions 19', 19" in order to permit the body to flex longitudinally along the longitudinal partition wall portions 19', 19" so as to remove the supported articles of mechandise more readily.

The flange 31 also serves as means for attaching a transparent plastic sheet over the holder whereby the holder and contents are protected during transportation. The shape of the holder lends itself to transportation by mail and permits stackin of the holders for transportation and storage when desired.

While I have illustratedemd described the preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise constructions herein disclosed and that various changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim. H

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is:

A plastic display and holder device for an article of merchandise comprising a substantially flat body portion having upstanding side and end wall portions, longitudinally and transversely disposed partition walls extending between said side and end wall portions dividing the body into a plurality of shallow compartments, a flange extending around the body portion, said side wall portions and longitudinally disposed partition walls constituting the side walls of said compartments, said end wall portions and said transversely disposed partition wall constituting the end walls of said compartments, bottom walls joining said end and side walls, the side and end walls of the compartments being relatively still, the bottom walls being relatively flexible, shoulders along the side walls. at the front thereof, the end walls being tapered from their inner ends outwardly whereby the compartments are longer at the front than at the rear thereof, said end wall portions and said flange having continuous fold lines in alignment with the longitudinal partition walls to facilitate bending the body portion longitudinally for ready removal of the supported are ticles.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 137,122 Gits Ian. 25, 1944 2,119,773 Buckner June 7, 1938 2,197,326 Streyle Apr. 16, 1940 2,532,604 Carski Dec. 5, 1940 2,633,248 Goldenberg... v Mar. 31, 1953 2,720,969 Kendall Oct. 18, 1955 

